HAROLD BURSON, LEADING P.R. PRACTITIONER,
TELLS IONA COLLEGE AUDIENCE THAT
“PUBLIC RELATIONS IS GROWING AND WILL CONTINUE TO GROW”
New Rochelle NY, <![endif]-->April 20, 2002<![endif]-->. – Harold Burson, Founder and Chairman of
Burson-Marsteller, Inc., one of the world’s largest public relations agencies,
told a standing-room-only audience recently at Iona College in New Rochelle
that “Public Relations is growing and will continue to grow, even through
recessions and economic downturns.”
Mr. Burson’s presentation was part of a two-year-old
“Public Relations Pathfinder” Lecture Series sponsored by the Iona College
Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. This lecture series has brought a number of
the nation’s senior-level public relations experts to Iona to share their
experiences and insights with the next generation of public relations
practitioners.
Mr. Burson cited the growth of public relations
throughout history, saying that the American Revolution and its use of
pamphlets, speeches, staged events (the “Boston Tea Party”) and the Declaration
of Independence depended on public relations to gain acceptance by the
Colonists and motivate them to action.
He described the evolution of the public relations field
by the questions top management would ask its public relations counselors:
1. “How do I say it?” – the era from the
beginning of the Twentieth Century to the late 1950s, when public relations was
called upon in a technician role.
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2. “What do I say? – The era from the
early 1960s to the 1990s, when public relations was called upon to provide
counsel to management as well as hands-on communication services.
3. “What do I do?” – the current era,
when public relations counselors increasingly have a seat at the top management
table and advise CEOs and management’s on what to do to gain and keep public
acceptance.
When
asked about the negative image the public relations field has among the news
media, Mr. Burson said, “The industry has to go out of its way to show
everyone, including the media, what they do.”
He added that while journalists may say they do not like the public
relations field, they can all cite certain public relations people that do a
good job and help them in reporting the news.
This is similar to the public opinion polls that cite negative public
opinions about the Congress, but positive opinions about individual
Congressmen.
Mr.
Burson also cited the importance of global communications for All-American
institutions, and noted that Burson-Marsteller has always had an extensive
overseas presence.
Iona’s Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of
America (PRSSA) provides students with many opportunities to learn about the
public relations profession via lectures, workshops and conferences, as well as
student internships to provide actual work experience in the field. Its “Public Relations Pathfinder” Lecture
Series has been cited as an outstanding student professional development activity
and is being adopted by PRSSA chapters nationwide.
PRSSA has over 7,000 student members in some 226 chapters
across the country, and is sponsored by the Public Relations Society of
America, the world’s largest professional society for the public relations
field with some 20,000 members.
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Addendum (Jack O’Dwyer):
1. What do
you think about six big ad agencies controlling 60% of all ads and employing
about 20,000 PR people?
Mr. Burson said that these agencies are so big and
have so many employees that they are able control much of the market do to
their large size. He added that since
they are big, they need a lot of employees in all areas and that is why they
have employed so many PR practitioners.
He believes that Advertising and PR has grown so rapidly that they have
a greater need for employees than previously.
2.
What do you think about integrated marketing, and what is
the role of PR in integrated marketing?
Mr. Burson believes that integrated
marketing provides a framework for allowing each disciplines (Advertising, PR,
and Marketing) skills to be integrated into a project so they have the best of
all worlds. He also believes that the
role of PR in this is to do PR at its best just like Advertising’s role is to
use Advertising to its fullest.